- [countable] the action or sound of something hitting a hard surface
- We could hear loud bumps from upstairs where the children were playing.
- with a bump He fell to the ground with a bump.
- The plane landed with a loud bump.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- loud
- minor
- slight
- …
- feel
- take
- with a bump
Definitions on the go
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- [countable] a swelling (= an area that is larger and rounder than normal) on the body, often caused when you have been hit synonym lump
- She was covered in bumps and bruises.
- How did you get that bump on your forehead?
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- big
- huge
- large
- …
- get
- have
- bump on
- bumps and bruises
- (also baby bump)(informal) the round shape of a woman’s stomach when she is pregnant
- [countable] a part of a flat surface that is not even, but raised above the rest of it
- a bump in the road
Extra Examples- We hit a bump and the car swerved.
- (figurative) My job is to smooth out the bumps in supply and demand.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- speed
- hit
- smooth out
- bump in
- [countable] a slight accident in which your vehicle hits something
- I had a bump in the car earlier, but it wasn’t serious.
- the bumps[plural] (British English) (on a child’s birthday) the act of lifting the child in the air and then putting them down on the ground, once for every year of their age
- We gave her the bumps.
Word Originmid 16th cent. (as a verb): imitative, perhaps of Scandinavian origin.
Idioms
See bump in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionarycome back/down to earth (with a bang/bump) | bring somebody (back) down to earth (with a bang/bump)
- (informal) to return, or to make somebody return, to a normal way of thinking or behaving after a time when you/they have been very excited, not very practical, etc. see also down to earth
things that go bump in the night
- (informal, humorous) used to refer to ghosts and other supernatural things that cannot be explained
- There are mysterious lights in the sky and things that go bump in the night.
Check pronunciation:
bump